Another Critique of the Paleo Lifestyle…And What’s Behind It

An interesting review of Paleo on Livestrong.com posted last week is the latest in what seems to be a series of at least a slight misunderstanding of what Paleo really is.

From the first sight of the article, one can guess where it’s going, given the cliche cartoons of the ‘cavemen’ personae. Anyone else getting tired of that?

One critic, who happens to be listed as a ‘White House Fitness Trainer’, states: “Unless you have a spear handy and access to unlimited buffalo, you are going to have a hard time truly eating like a caveman.”

Another, Stephen Colbert, from his interview in 2010 with John Durant, adds, “It sounds like this is some high-falutin Atkins diet because it’s just meat and vegetables.”

Then… the ‘risks’ of going Paleo, including:

Straining one’s kidney’s from the high protein diet (since when is 30% of a diet considered high?)

Missing out on essential nutrients by avoiding ‘calcium-rich dairy’ (never mind that dairy has a net acidic effect on the body), ‘high fiber whole grains’ (forget about the fact that fresh veggies contain 7 – 11 times the fiber of grains) and legumes (doesn’t the fact that legumes can easily cause gassiness and bloating tell you something about our ability to digest them…. or not?)

‘High priced meats are not economical and may be hard to find.’ Ok, true, but no one ever said every meal has to be a grass-fed filet mignon…

Kinda made me giggle when I saw myself listed as a ‘rival tribe’ to my very own mentor, Dr. Cordain. Where did that come from?

And what about the erroneous statement I’ve seen so many times referring to there not having been studies done on the subject?

It all goes back to the same thing.

There is no money in health, but there is plenty to be made in sickness.

Kale, avocados and wild salmon simply aren’t the lucrative commodities that soy and corn crops are (by the way, did you know that 93% and 88% of soy and corn crops, respectively, in the US are GMO, according to the Huffington Post ?).

As long as we adhere to the current model of ‘healthcare’, whereby we go to a doctor, get pills, add side effects to the original problem, get more pills, get sicker and so on, we will continue to fund this system.

Or, we can each do our part to educate those around us on the importance of what we are putting in our bodies and the end result.